Rebels battling Assad forces have in recent weeks attempted to retake several areas along the porous border between Lebanon and Syria particularly that Qalamoun was seen as a strategic region for smuggling weapons and fighters.

The Lebanese Army has also launched a crackdown and tightened the noose on rebels along the border to prevent the infiltration of armed men into Lebanon, following months of car bombings targeting predominantly Shiite areas in retaliation to Hezbollah’s role in Syria.